Now Playing

Batley Men Jailed For Trying To Import Heroin

19 August 2011, 13:07

Two Batley men are starting jail sentences after they tried to import £200,000 worth of heroin into West Yorkshire.

22 year old Bilal Suleman was jailed for four years and eight months for conspiring to import heroin, whilst his uncle, Zaber Khan, was jailed for two years and eight months for purchasing a mobile phone, which was then used in the commission of the offence. Both men pleaded guilty to their respective charges.

The case was brought to the attention of officers in the Regional Organised Crime Unit back in January 2011 when officers from United Kingdom Borders Agency performed a routine search on a consignment of mayonnaise which had arrived from Pakistan.

Concealed within were two packages of brown powder which were seized by the officers; believing it to be heroin. The consignment was destined for a company called GLOBAL FOODS, Unit 4 Lady Ann Mills, Lady Ann Road, Batley. Enquiries revealed that this unit was being rented by Bilal Suleman.

Police officers, who took possession of the consignment of mayonnaise, made contact with Suleman to arrange delivery. After tests confirmed that the brown powder was in fact 1.31kg of heroin, the load was delivered. When Suleman signed for it, he was arrested for conspiring to import controlled drugs into the UK.

Khan’s involvement in the offence was revealed after he was identified on CCTV footage, purchasing a mobile phone that was used to arrange the delivery of the package in January. Khan, after his appeal for the case to be dismissed was rejected in July 2011, finally accepted the charge that he had purchased the phone, knowing it would be used for the importation of drugs.

'Today’s result demonstrates what can be achieved in partnership with our colleagues at UKBA, who intercepted the consignments in the first instance.

'The controlled delivery of the package that my officers later engaged in highlights just how far we will go to disrupt the importation of drugs and bring those involved to justice. We are committed to targeting organised criminals in this way in order to make communities safer across Yorkshire and the Humber'